POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State women's basketball team (2-4) fell to the No. 19 Texas Christian Horned Frogs (6-0) Sunday afternoon in Fort Worth Texas.
The Bengals went into Schollmaier Arena and went toe to toe with an extremely strong TCU roster led by six-foot-seven Sedona Prince.
"[It was] a great effort tonight against one of the best teams in the country." Remarked Head Coach Seton Sobolewski postgame. "TCU doesn't give you any breaks on the defensive end," Though, he continued "We are seeing lots of improvement in many areas."
Facing one of the top 25 programs in the nation, the Bengals didn't blink from the opening tip. Halle Wright opened up the scoring for the Bengals with a layup to make the game 7-2 TCU.
The Bengals were able to keep the TCU lead in check for most of the first half, staying around a 10-point margin, utilizing quick passes and movement to work around the Horned Frogs' size.
Maria Dias led the Bengals in the half, scoring eight points on three of six shooting from the floor. Sophia Covello connected on a pair of treys for the Orange and Black scoring six.
As a team, the Bengals shot 12-29 from the field in the first half, 41.4 percent. In the first quarter, the Bengals shot 58.3 percent from the field matched by TCU's 60.0 percent.
The Bengals outrebounded the Horned Frogs 20-11 in the first half. The rebounds came from a team effort, with seven Bengals grabbing at least one board. Kacey Spink led the way for the team with four.
Coming out of the locker room, the Horned Frogs adjusted their defense and successfully took away ISU's ability to pass the ball around the horn, making the Bengals pass the ball inside where the TCU height advantage kept the Bengals from scoring under the Basket.
In the second half, ISU was only able to attempt two three-point shots, neither falling. Inside the arc, the Bengals shot just six-of-27 from the field over the final 20 minutes as the Horned Frogs extended their lead over the course of the half.
Despite a growing lead by TCU, the Bengals never stopped fighting in the second half. Halle Wright scored 10 points on five of eight from the field leading the way for ISU.
The Horned Frogs kept control of the game the 2nd half and the game ended with the final 86-46 win over ISU.
Notes
· The Bengals shot .321 from the field against the Horned Frogs, this is the 2nd highest field goal percentage that TCU has allowed this season, first place going to the ranked North Carolina State Wolfpack.
· The Bengals +4 rebound margin breaks a two-game skid of losing the battle on the glass. ISU has now outrebounded three-out of six games.
· After a .400 three-point shooting afternoon against TCU, ISU is now sitting at .355 on the season for three-point percentage, a marked improvement over last year's results.
· This was just the 2nd time that the Bengals have not scored more than 20 field goals in a game, the first coming against California (13 made)
· Halle Wright has now scored in double-digits in five of the Bengals' six games. Her 15 points against TCU were a season-high for the Junior.
· Sophia Covello has not hit at least one three-pointer in five of the Bengals' six games this season.
Up Next
The Bengals head to Cancun, Mexico over the Thanksgiving week to take on the 2024 Cancun Challenge. Idaho State first plays Vermont at 2:00 PM on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 28 at 2:00 PM. The next day, the Bengals then take on Rhode Island at 2:00 PM. Both games will be broadcast on FloSports, a paid subscription watch service, live stats will also be available for the contests.
